#he says that inter-planar travel runs in the family

[yardsards]

do people who have listened to taz balance but not graduation Know that it was HEAVILY IMPLIED that lup and barry eventually adopted a lil sorcerer child who got disowned by his family for his natural necromancy magic, and they taught him how to use his powers for good and were overall great parents that he looks back on fondly

(and said child grew up to be a dimension-hopping lich, caretaker of the dead, and very sweet adoptive father of a major npc)

#eliot posts #taz #the adventure zone #taz balance #taz graduation #lup taaco #barry bluejeans #blupjeans #like they never specifically say ''my parents are barry and lup'' so it's left up to interpretation but #he says he came from another world other than nua (nua is the name of the grad world like faerun is the balance world) #he says both his parents were highly skilled necromancers that ''travelled'' a lot because of their work #he says that inter-planar travel runs in the family #and he likes to bake #also travis apparently said on a livestrean that he got something carved by magnus for his daughter #it's a fun little easter egg for balance enjoyers but kept vague enough where it's like. you don't have to know about balance to enjoy it #anyway tho it's adorable cuz he talks about how much of a positive impact his parents made on him #and how he wanted to emulate them when raising his own daughter #and he's a good dad and his daughter loves him (also she is an absolute delight i love her #and like the only older adult to look at our college-aged protagonists and be like #''yeah it's messed up that you have to deal with all of this you're so young you're the same age as my child i will help however i can'' #like balance easter egg aside gordy is one of my fav graduation npcs (behind his daughter rainer who is my fav)

[dememarquette]

Ashwater Visit

"I have never once in my life heard of toll booths on inter-planar travel being a thing."

Believe me- I would be the first to know. It just sounds like an innovation of forth. The guy running it shrugged his shoulders, his club-like fingers guarding the button that'd permit me through. A formality, I'm positive. The thick, cracked magicked wall didn't exactly have a drawbridge he'd be the gatekeeper of. We existed in a dark expanse, outside of the imagination as much as the underside of a map. "'ey, that's how it goes. This place is a hot spot." He said, bored. "What do you expect?" I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. This moment had been fruition for months. One that had brought me to the ends of the earth, down below, and back again. Dead end after dead end, false lead after false lead. But finally- FINALLY- I had finally caught onto a fleeting hint of Adria's wherabouts and raced to the appropriate address, only to be re-routed to this guy like a call made in the 80's. He went on. "Nice suburbs, good neighborhood, diverse people- you ain' close to being the only one trying to get through right now." "Yeah yeah yeah, I read the brochure." His comment made me vaguely aware of other people in the mystical plane we both occupied, but obviously they were behind me in line. "But why is it hot right now? It's- it's not Limbo is it?" Recent events would make it probable. But no. He looks at me like I'm stupid. Then- lost, with a smidgen of pity wedged in there for sarcastic effect. "Where have you been?" "Busy." I snap, short. "You know what, I don't care where it is- just let me pay." (If Adria saw the receipt, I'd never live it down.) - - - Ashwater 4 PM, Tuesday They both flinched when her transponder beeped. Business calls. He folded his hand. 'Damn.' He had a good draw, too. Although they were just playing for lunch- he was looking forward to it. Recently, this is how they lived. It was a process of sitting around, killing time while waiting for an inevitable call that something weird was going on, coupled with orders to investigate. Around the third or forth month of this, the priest decided to cut time by sticking close. It got him to the scene ASAP, and he was prepped to deal with the bizarre antics that'd become their evening before the cameras were rolling. (Although he wouldn't admit it out loud- the extra benefit of running into chaos with the cops instead was that they were a lot more enjoyable than his personal film crew anyways.) Both listened up close as the pager crackled to life: "Reports of smoke near Ashwater Elementary. Suspected arson. Repeat: Ashwater Elementary, suspected arson." "A fire?" Demetrius gaped, light brightening his eyes like Christmas morning. "Just a fire?" Okay so a fire outside the schoolhouse was kind of bad. Children-on-fire bad. Possibly dangerous- who knows, but with how batshit things have been lately, it was so refreshing to hear of a normal case of arson. Just imagine it- vandalism, car theft, or public disturbance! He could cry! "Don't sound too excited," Adria said, buckling in her pistol. "You never know what it could actually be." He spun around to launch himself out of the chair he had long since claimed in their office. Interest in the cards was abandoned when Adria set down her royal family. "LALALA- I didn't hear that~" This was his free pass to go do whatever the Hell he wanted. A day off while the cops are taking care of NORMAL emergencies. Julia couldn't say anything! "You'll have to tell me about it later. Have fun, officer!" She grunted from the back of her throat. - - - I stepped out. Flames from my entrance lit on the decrepit, decayed grey wood with an ease that suggested even the termites started to look for better options. This entire building was a dump. Boarded windows, busted glass, and a wallpaper I could swear I've seen in those hotels you rent by the hour. ...Which makes sense, considering the amount of beds in here for no apparent purpose. SHIT. They're about to catch too- no! I try to stomp out the flames before it gets that far. One quick round of Dance Dance Revolution, and they're pretty fizzled but the black smog is everywhere. I'd open a window but none of them seem to be in order. Even the door is boarded up from the outside. An outdated precaution- I barely had to ram into it before the wood splintered into pieces. I stumbled out of the shack, hacking the ash out of my lungs. Cutesy neighborhood, he said. 'WHERE?!' I'm in the middle of the goddamn woods! Several other warehouses surround me, but they look like they're suffering the same fate. Locked up, vandalized, and abandoned. I can't help but to notice the atrocious grammar on the Latin graffiti- a sin in of itself. All enclosed by a fence that I began to follow. It was the best lead I had, anyways. The further along I went, the more transversed the path began to appear. Then- there, through the trees. The first signs of recent civilization. It happens to be a huge, American flag waving in the air. I stop in my tracks, completely deadpan. She's been hiding in the states? UGH. Don't tell me I had to pay a fucking toll when I could have taken Uber! "FREEZE!" My nerves jolt. Stunned- familiar as ever, as if it was my conscious itself barking at me. I pivot around on my heel, graced with a face that's only been popping up in unforgiving Facebook Memories. Adria. Alive as ever. The outfit is 'interesting,' but excusable as I hadn't been able to take her shopping in awhile for reasons her tombstone could elaborate on. My heart flushed, energized. I can't fucking believe it- after all this time. "A-Adria..?!" I was sort of expecting a cliche. Her to run into my arms, or us to embrace. She'd be crying like the huge sap she is, and I'd be rolling my eyes. She'd apologize for being a professional Waldo, and I'd make a sarcastic quip about not being able to get rid of me. I take another step towards her to initiate this detailed scenario that had been brewing in my head for months and she draws a gun like it was second nature. I skid to a halt. THAT was new. "Whoa now..." I raise my hands. "Since when do you pack heat?" "How do you know my name?!" "What-?" I sputter. "What do you mean 'how do I know your name..?! You haven't been gone for THAT long." I let the Hellish color, and appropriate appendages drain from my skin. She takes a step back, somehow looking more horrified by my fleshy appearance than my demon one. Judging from her age, I know reincarnation was out the window. Heaven mind-wipe was my second guess, but that too is disqualified when I notice the recognition sparks in her eyes. ...And when she cocks the pistol. "I'm prepared for this, buddy!" She said. "Salt rounds, and holy water! Don't assume just because you're wearing his face I won't shoot! It might be incentive!" I twitch in disbelief. That threat- I can't decide whether I whether I want to cry or laugh. I'm going to go with both. HAA. "Did- did they seriously demote you from power to mall-cop?!" "I'm not a mall-cop!" She says, switching out the shells for the appropriate ones. "Where did you come from? Did Abbadon send you?" I blinked, caught offguard. A whole new wave of offense washes over me. I show up in person and the first person she asks me about is another demon?! Wh- "Abbadon? Like- Luci's VP? Why does he matter- hey, I thought you'd be happy to see ME. Like I didn't just spend months jumping through investigations and hoops, and magical bullshit looking for you!" "Yeah, I'm real charmed. HANDS UP." I shook my head, mind swimming. This- this was interesting. I don't quite understand what's going on, but the comfort of her just being here was enough. If but temporarily. If there's anything I know about Adria, it's that she'll stick to her guns. If I don't want a headache, I should play along. "Yup. You got me." I sigh, whimsically offering out my hands. "You better have a cutesy cruiser car too or I'll be very disappointed." "I'll be sure to give you a tour." She shoves me toward it, not letting her gun lose aim of me once. I'm unfazed. "Tell me one thing- it doesn't have one of those tacky guardian angel car charms, does it?" "No." She lies. I quirk a brow. "My mom gave it to me! Ugh, just get in!" - - - I'm escorted into the station on my best behavior. There's another man in the room- a sheriff, my guess- who looks equal parts amused and skeptical by her special guest. "You're arresting Demetrius?" "This isn't Demetrius. He's just using his face like some kind of freak." She corrects, politely. "But he knows something." "Don't I always?" I grin. This Dave guy looks between the two of us, then back at her in an 'Are you sure?' sort of manner. See- even he knows what's up. Adria huffs, no time for sass. I smile fondly- I missed that face on her. "I should get the real Demetrius down here. Started the fire for sure- he looked like a certified demon when I saw him. Horns and all." Annnd there it went. 'Real Demetrius'? I winced, confused but slowly catching onto my current predicament. It was easy enough to put two and two together. "I wouldn't do that." I sighed, plainatively. "I'll talk. Anything you want to know. How about that?" Her eyes narrowed- though clearly listening. "But! You have to answer some questions for me! Deal?" I offered my hand through the bars, fingers waggling. "What do you want? Abby's autograph?" "Where did you come from?" She cut to the chase. "Uh- France. You were-...uh." There? "Yeah France." "A French demon?" She asks, speculatively as she marked it as some sort of note. Weird- but okay. "Sure, we'll go with that. My turn. How do we know eachother?" "We don't." I roll my eyes. "How do you know 'Demetrius'?" "Everyone here knows him. Television Evangelist turning Ashwater into reality TV. You couldn't have picked a worse disguise." I slow-blink. What a fantastic idea. "Why are you in Ashwater?" "Uh- to find you. Didn't I make that obvious?" "No." She paces closer. "I mean why are you here? Why are all of you coming here?" "It's a hot spot-" "I know that-" She interrupts, rude. "But why?" "Someone is overcharging their questions." I say, sing-song. "But it beats me. This place is too podunk, but it ended up on our radar somehow- HEY my turn." "Fine." "How long have you been here?" "Why do you want to know that?" She crosses her arms, defensive. "Ah ah ah- more questions, not part of our game. How long?" She sighs. "In Ashwater?" "If that's where we are. Yeah." "Since I was born." She says. I urged her to go on. Numbers. She cracks; "Twenty eight years, okay?" The edge of my lip twitched into a small frown. Twenty-eight years? Significantly short of eight hundred or so. This isn't the same world after all. The revelation turns my mood more somber. I'm not one for environmental awareness either, but the last thing I'd want to do is fuck us up in a different universe as well. Wherever this is- wherever we are right now- we're clearly together. I comb my hair back as I figure out how this changes things. Her brows arch too, as though she is arguing with herself. I know that face- she wants to say something. It's just hard to imagine what. "Why do you look like Demetrius?" I don't think that was it, but it's as far as we'll go. I rested against the bars, warm smile still on my face. "Can we avoid that one, please? I've only got one more for you, anyways." It's a long-shot, but worth a try regardless. "If you weren't here, where would you be? If you could be anywhere, that is." She tenses like a wall suddenly slammed down. "I don't know." "You don't know-?" "I like it here. Why would I go anywhere else?" I can smell Adria in denial from a mile away. Even her chief, partner, or whatever looked up from his desk with mild concern. I feel as if I'm overstaying my welcome. "Right. Alright- thanks. That's good enough for me, I guess. But do you mind if I leave you with some food for thought?" If she had an objection, she didn't voice it. "What?" "I'm going to get straight to it. I don't know how different things are here. Frankly- I like my world too much to care, but I want you to know something. You- you or some version of you- is the best thing to happen to me. And I say that selfishly. Very selfishly- you...you gave a shit about me. It's something that never made any sense to me, that you didn't have to do, but you still did. Even if I was more trouble than I was worth. And clearly-...it was enough to make me a better person. I just wish you were less of a pain in the ass to find, and if you pull this same stunt here, I can tell you I won't be happy." "Excuse me?" "Don't worry about it." I wave it off. "You don't know. And if we're lucky, you'll never have to know either. But when it all boils down to it- you did your job. Way back when, and then again before you left. I understand that's how it had to be, but I can't express how much I wish you hadn't. How I wish-..." I shrug. It'd be just like me to damn the world to have her back. 'Priorities,' my Adria would say. This one stared at me clueless. That's okay. To top it all off, I thought I might throw this in, because it's been seriously weirding me out- "Also- he prefers to be called Deme." Poof. And I was gone. Exit could have been flashier but I'm impatient to get back to the drawing board. If I was disappointed, it was only in theory. That brief visit, however bizarre, was just the sort of morale boost that I didn't know I needed. I'm getting close, Adria. You better be ready.

#my canon meets au spin #super inspired by malum's #adria #cop au #story